With the 2019 NFL season — the league’s 100th campaign — finally here, it’s officially time to start picking winners and losers.
So with the Packers and Bears set to tee it up Thursday, USA TODAY Sports’ fearless panel of prognosticators is also ready to go to work, including rookie soothsayers Jori Epstein and Tom Schad, who both like Chicago to begin its NFC North title defense with a victory over their arch rivals.
Some of Week 1’s less-heralded games (Lions-Cardinals, 49ers-Buccaneers, Broncos-Raiders) produced the most divided opinions. There wasn’t even a unanimous vote for the reigning champion Patriots getting underway with a victory.
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Should be fun to see how the weekend and season unfold, so, in the words of Tom Brady, “Let’s Go!”